How do I research where a family name originated?

Question:

How do I research where a family name originated?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hey Muddy,

There are a few ways. One is not so good - use your surname and be led to believe that is important, and that someone really understands who you are based on a name that originated several hundred years ago. That would be the Family Crest today.

The next way would be DNA. That is an absolute certainty. It is not cheap, and you have to participate in a Surname project for that purpose. So, it really only nails down your Y-chromosome lineage. If you take an Uncle on your Mom's side, and get them to do a DNA Test, you get a little bigger picture, but still not the whole picture. That will be 2 lines of your tree determined via DNA. The problem is that you have 4 lines at your Grandparents level in your Family Tree, 8 lines in the 1st Great Grandparents, and double it each successive generation. DNA will never tell you the whole picture. Even if your Tree colapses on second and distant cousins (which it will do).

The third method is to Chart your Family Tree, as completely as you can. Use Genealogy Software, prove each succesive ancestor and work on one branch at a time, one person at a time. Then you will get a feel for who you are.

If you want to take your surname and enter it into a Coat of Arms site, here are a few. Just remember, this is not who you are.